The present invention relates generally to a climbing wall route setting assembly and a process for planning and setting the hand holds for climbing routes on climbing wall structures. Particularly, the invention relates to a climbing route setting guide having route maps to set climbing routes with identifiable hand holds on an associated climbing wall structure.
Artificial climbing and bouldering walls are increasingly used due to physical fitness awareness and interest in the climbing and bouldering sports. Climbing wall assemblies are also provided to introduce children to the climbing sports in a safe, convenient and educational manner. Various devices have also been introduced to make climbing for children a fun and educational experience. Exemplary climbing wall assemblies and devices are disclosed in Applicant's pending U.S. patent application, entitled Climbing Wall Assembly, having Ser. No. 10/236,728, filed on Sep. 6, 2002, in pending patent application entitled Safety Mat Securement Assembly having Ser. No. 11/061,583 filed on Feb. 18, 2005, and in pending patent application entitled Climbing Wall Assembly having Ser. No. 11/247,497 filed on Oct. 1, 2005, the teachings of said Applications being fully incorporated by reference herein.
Indoor and outdoor climbing walls typically have a plurality of hand holds positioned thereon to provide the climber one or more climbing paths or routes. It has been found beneficial, therefore, to provide climbing wall structures with means that allow the hand holds to be repositioned on the climbing wall surface. Preferably, hand hold mounting structures are provided in the climbing wall that permit relatively quick and easy mounting, removal and remounting of the hand holds with respect to the climbing wall surface. Further, the planned and definitive positioning of the hand holds on the climbing wall surface and with respect to each other is desirable for providing a preconceived climbing route.
There is a need in the climbing art to provide an assembly and process to create planned climbing routes for indoor and outdoor climbing wall structures. To keep climbers interested and challenged, the hand holds on a climbing wall are arranged and may be periodically changed to create climbing routes with different physical and educational challenges. The route setting assembly, which includes a climbing wall structure, route maps and cooperating labeled hand hold devices, provides organized, effective and planned methods of arranging the hand holds on a specified wall surface to create various climbing routes.